Russia, China denounce US missile test

Missile was banned for 30 years by a treaty that the US and Russia abandoned this month

WASHINGTON Russia and China warned on Tuesday that a new US missile test had heightened military tensions and risked sparking an arms race, weeks after Washington ripped up a Cold War-era weapons pact with Moscow.

The US and Russia ditched the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty this month after accusing each other of violating the accord. The US Department of Defense announced on Monday it had tested a type of ground-launched missile that was banned for over 30 years under the 1987 INF agreement, which limited the use of nuclear and conventional medium-range weapons.

“The US has obviously taken a course towards escalation of military tensions. We won’t react to provocations,” Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told state news agency TASS.

“We will not allow ourselves to get drawn into a costly arms race.” In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said: “This measure from the US will trigger anew round of an arms race, leading to an escalation of military confrontation.” He warned that the test "will have a serious negative impact on the international and regional security situation".

The Pentagon said it tested a modified ground-launched version of a Navy Tomahawk cruise missile, which was launched from San Nicolas Island and accurately struck its target after flying more than 500 km. The missile was armed with a conventional, not nuclear, warhead. It would have a range of about 1,000 km and that it might be ready for deployment within 18 months.